Protective Table/Desk

ABSTRACT

Disclosed herein is a table for use by at least one person in protection from attackers/aggressors and more particularly protection from an active shooter&#39;s bullets or other lethal projectiles.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

This invention relates to a table for use in protection fromattackers/aggressors and more particularly protection from an activeshooter's bullets.

BACKGROUND

With attacks by terrorists and active shooters on the rise, it is highlydesirable to have some convenient form of temporary ballistic protectionbehind which students, employees and others can safely shelter. One ofthe main threats today consists of one or more active shooters thatenter schools, business areas, or other public areas and simply spraybullets indiscriminately with the intent to kill or seriously injure asmany people as possible in a short time. At present, the standardoperating procedure during an active shooter incident is to lock downand “shelter in place”, lying on the ground as quietly and as flat aspossible so as to not attract attention or to appear to be dead. TheAR-15 and other ‘assault rifles’ have frequently been used by activeshooters. Standard ‘assault rifle’ projectiles travel at 2700-3100 feetper second and can easily penetrate standard walls, desks, tables,chairs, file cabinets and even double-sided steel doors. This makes thecurrent strategy of “Sheltering” in place an extremely dangerous andreckless practice unless some highly effective form of ballistic shelteris provided, behind which individuals can shelter. A desk that iscomprised of material that is rated to stop multiple full metal jacketrounds from various “Assault Rifles” (e.g. AR-15, M-16, AK-47, M1A, M4,M14, etc.) as well as stopping multiple rounds from less powerfulweapons such as hand guns, sub machine guns, shot guns etc is desirable.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

This disclosure is summarized below only for purposes of introducingembodiments of the disclosure. The ultimate scope of the disclosure isto be limited only to the claims that follow the specification.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a newand improved ballistic protective table behind which students oremployees can safely shelter in place from virtually all types ofpistol, assault rifle and submachine gun rounds.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a new andimproved protective table that can easily be turned-on-edge to serve asa highly effective, temporary, movable ballistic barrier.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a new andimproved protective table that is relatively inexpensive and can be usedfor school, work or other every-day activities.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Specific objects and advantages of the invention will become readilyapparent to those skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription of a preferred embodiment thereof, taken in conjunction withthe drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective top view of a protective table according to thepresent invention; and

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the protective table of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the protective table of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a side elevational cross-sectional view of the protectivetable of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

In the following description, and for the purposes of explanation,numerous specific details are provided to thoroughly understand thevarious aspects of the invention. It will be understood, however, bythose skilled in the relevant arts, that the present invention may bepracticed without these specific details. In other instances, knownstructures and devices are shown or discussed more generally in order toavoid obscuring the invention. In many cases, a description of theoperation is sufficient to enable one to implement the various forms ofthe invention, particularly when the operation is to be implemented insoftware. It should be noted that there are many different andalternative configurations, devices and technologies to which thedisclosed embodiments may be applied. The full scope of the inventionsis not limited to the examples that are described below.

Turning now to the drawings in which like reference characters indicatecorresponding elements throughout the several views, attention isdirected to FIGS. 1-3 which illustrate a protective table generallydesignated 10. Protective table 10 includes a top 12 and four or morelegs 14. Handles 16 are attached to the underside of top 12 to beconvenient for quickly grasping but not in the way for normal every-dayactivities. Table top 12 is constructed of material that willeffectively stop bullets, projectiles and the like, which are directedagainst it. Also, the entire table is constructed light enough to bemovable and easily and quickly turned on edge by one or more individualswhen a crisis or threat evolves.

In a preferred embodiment, and as shown in FIG. 4, table top 12 includesArmorCore®, a bullet resistant fiberglass manufactured by Wacocomposites. ArmorCore panels are manufactured in eight levels with level8 being the strongest and the material preferred in this application.Level 8. ArmorCore panels can stop virtually all standard pistol,submachine gun and assault rifle rounds, including 0.357 magnum, 0.44magnum, Uzi submachine gun, Thomson submachine gun, AK-47, AR-15, and0.308 rifle rounds. In the preferred embodiment, table top 12 isapproximately 3 foot by 3 foot in area and approximately 1 and ⅞ inchesthick. Further, in the preferred embodiment the table is coated withmultiple layers of a very durable material 18 to seal the fiberglassmaterial and protect users from fiberglass fibers of the ArmorCorepanel, e.g. Tuff Coat. Tuff Coat coatings are water-based,single-component products, created through a unique process ofcross-linking urethane, acrylics, and co-polymers, and utilizingrecycled rubber crumb as an aggregate. This results in a very sturdy,durable bullet resistant table top that weighs approximately 135 pounds.Generally, because of the weight, table legs 14 will be formed of steelor the like which will provide sufficient support under normal use orcircumstances. Table legs 14 are preferably constructed from 2.5″ I.D.Schedule 40 Steel Pipe with a 6″×6″ square plate made of ¼″ thick steelwelded to the top of each leg. These steel plates are each drilled withfour holes to accommodate ⅜″ steel carriage bolts, with which the leg issecurely attached to the table. The bottom of the legs has a steel capwelded onto them or some other type of cap, or rollers to allow table toslide (or roll) and be moved across a floor without catching or digginginto the floor.

It will be understood that the preferred embodiment is simply oneexample included to illustrate a convenient size and type of material.In actual use table 10 can be constructed of any material capable ofresisting or stopping pistol and rifle bullets and the like, someexamples of which might include steel, titanium, or other metals,ceramics, shear-thickening fluid, magnetorheological fluid, multiplelayers of various materials so constructed as to form a bullet resistantcomposite, etc. Also, the area and weight of the top can vary dependingupon the individuals it is intended to protect. That is, in a businesswhere only adults are working, a somewhat heavier/larger table might bedesirable. Also, while it is desirable to have the table as light aspossible for easy and quick overturning, some decorative or utilityfeatures might be added. Also, while two handles 16 are illustrated, itwill be understood that anywhere from one to several might be included,although two handles are almost always required to insure awell-controlled turning-over of the table onto its side. The number andpositioning of the handles will generally depend upon the individualsthe table is intended to protect. For example, adults might be able tohandle a larger table then school children, even if several schoolchildren cooperate in the process.

In operation, when an active shooter appears on the scene, one or moreof the individuals the table is intended to protect, grasp handles 16and quickly position the table and turn table 10 on its side or edge.Preferably, legs 14 are pointed toward the threat, e.g. the door orentrance to the room, which must be securely blocked to bar access bythe active shooter. While the shooter can easily shoot through standarddoors and walls, as long as shooter is prevented from entering the room,students or employees can safely shelter behind protective table 10 withtheir backs to the table, several students deep by two students abreast(in the preferred example). Ideally, there would be three tables 10 perclassroom which could be lined up next to each other and behind which25-30 students could seek effective shelter from an active shooter. Whenthe emergency is over, handles 16 are grasped and table 10 is returnedto its normal upright position.

Thus, a protective table is disclosed that includes a top which iseffectively pistol and rifle bullet proof (bullet resistant) and whichcan be quickly and easily turned on its side to provide an effectiveprotective shield from bullets and the like for a group of individuals.In normal circumstances, the protective table is used as a standardtable/desk for classroom, work or other every-day activities.

Various changes and modifications to the embodiments herein chosen forpurposes of illustration will readily occur to those skilled in the art.To the extent that such modifications and variations do not depart fromthe spirit of the invention, they are intended to be included within thescope thereof.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for shielding persons from bulletsand high-speed projectiles comprising: A. a table comprising: i. a tabletop comprising a top surface and a bottom surface; ii. at least onehandle coupled to the bottom surface; iii. a plurality of legs coupledto, and extending perpendicularly downward from the bottom surface; iv.the table top further comprising at least one layer of bullet-resistantmaterial.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the at least one layer ofbullet resistant material is comprised of at least one of the followingmaterials: fiberglass; steel; titanium; ceramic; shear-thickening fluid;or magnetorheological fluid.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein thebullet-resistant material is comprised of Armorcore® material.
 4. Theapparatus of claim 1 wherein the bullet-resistant material is coatedwith at least one layer of durable material.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4wherein the durable material comprises at least one layer of Tuff Coat®material.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the at least one handle isconfigured for gripping by human hands.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1wherein the plurality of legs are comprised of steel.